“Not worth it” - Familiar story for Lys Mousset as ex-Sheffield United man struggles for fitness at new club

The Frenchman, still only 26 years of age, joined the Bundesliga side in the summer after being released by United at the end of his contract. After a spell without a club, Mousset signed a two-year deal at Vonovia Ruhrstadion in mid-August but is yet to feature for his new club due to fitness issues.

Bochum boss Thomas Letsch put Mousset on an individual fitness plan last month and he this week returned to training with his teammates, although he is still not expected to feature against Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend or Stuttgart the week after.

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"Currently he's not an issue because he's not fit,” was Letsch’s curt answer when questioned over Mousset ahead of the Frankfurt game, in what will be a familiar story for Blades fans.

Mousset did not complete 90 minutes in a United shirt once – although he came close on a couple of occasions before being withdrawn late on – and hardly featured after being sent to Salernitana in Italy last season.

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A purple-patch in his first season at United produced six goals and four assists as the Blades finished ninth in the Premier League, arguably helping to repay his transfer fee. But he left Bramall Lane with a sense of what could have been in the air, and it seems the penny has still not dropped in Germany.

Fans of Bochum weren’t happy to see Mousset posting from a barbershop on Instagram around the time his teammates were losing a game. "There's still a lot missing at the moment," added Letsch, without disclosing the exact nature of Mousset’s fitness issues.

"He accepted the situation very well and didn't see [the training plan] as a punishment, but really used it to take himself to another level physically."

According to Deep in the West, the VfL Magazine, Mousset's move to Germany “was discussed quite controversially internally, but in the end the striker received a well-paid two-year contract.

“Whatever the case, the transfer of the 26-year-old is becoming more and more of a mystery. As of now, it wasn't worth it.”

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